


Memories of a Queen

by Valimar91



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Church Route Spoilers, My First Fanfic, POV First Person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-17
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:34:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25145530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Valimar91/pseuds/Valimar91
Summary: At the beginning of seventieth year of her reign,the Queen of United Kingdom of Fodlan tells about her life and how she became ruler,wife and mother
Relationships: My Unit | Byleth/Seteth
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	Memories of a Queen

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfic and the english isn't my first language(I'm italian)  
> This oneshot is a tale of Byleth and her thoughts during church route with some original romantic parts for one of my favorite ship in this wonderful game(and satisfy my head canon)  
> Let me know what you think thanks you so much

Today is the 31st of the Verdant Rain Moon ,Imperial Year 1236,the seventieth anniversary of foundation of United Kingdom of Fodlan.

Very few people remember those days when the continent was divided into the three realms of the Adrestian Empire,the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus,and the Leicester Alliance .and even less recall the terrible time of the war that engulfed this continent,destroyed the old order,and brought Fodlan together.Many scholars wrote about the war in the decades since it ended,many names have been given about it and many histories have been written about it....

In the midst of all these stories,i have been called and considered with many names

Goddess

Eternal Queen

Great Mother of Fodlan.

Many people believe i'm a superior being come down from heaven to save and guide them and bring ruin to my enemies.

But it isn't true.I was born as a mortal woman and it's my responsibility as queen of this nation to tell my history and to make sure the people remember it.

MY name is Byleth Sitri Eisner and i was born in the Garreg Mach Monastery on the 20th of Horsebow Moon,Imperial Year 1159,daughter of sir Jeralt Reus Eisner,the Blade Breaker, captain of Knights of Seiros and the most legendary knight of his time, and his wife Sitri,nun of the monastery,but i didn't know about my mother's identity,where i was born,my own age and my father's past until a fateful meeting. Ever since i can remember ,my father was in charge of his own mercenary company,Jerald's Mercenaries,and he raised me as such by teaching me swordplay and strategy even before i could walk and talk my first word.I did what he said without any questions and i didn't care about who hired us,who we fight and their motivations. My adversaries and even my comrades,frightened as well, said that i wasn't human but a deadly monster without heart and emotions and because of that they nicknamed me "Ashen Demon". In a distorted way they were right:my heart had never beat and the only emotion i felt was devotion towards my father. This was the only life i knew....until the twentieth of the Great Tree Moon,Imperial Year 1180. Our company was on the outskirts of Remire Village,Adrestian empire,when three noble lads not so different from my age,two boys and a girl,asked for help from my father because some bandits chased them to kill and robe them. My father accepted the request and put me in charge of Edelgard,Dimitri and Claude,the noble lads, to kill the bandits. It was going smoothly when the bandit leader Kostas,a horrid man, attacked Edelgard in despair and anger. Without even thinking, i got in the way and i was about to be killed when the time self frozen.

i remember exactly that moment.

 _"Honestly!What are you_ _accomplishing with that little_ _stunt?!_ "

_**"** It's like you're trying to get me killed,you fool"_

i stood straight up from the stance i had been frozen in and saw that i was back in a dreamscape throne room,a place i saw always in my sleep,locking eyes with the same green-haired girl(a girl i saw always in my sleep as well,only this time she was awake) the who sat leaning on the armrest.She just looked at me as though i was a misfit chip in need scolding and sighed as her expression changed to that of an exasperated mother.

 _"Well,it's fine.After al,if you_ _don't know the value of your own life,you aren't going to protect well,are you?Course not"_

Then she levitated off the throne seat and clapped her hands with a wide smile

_"Then i guess it's up to me to guide you from now on,right?"_

_"You can call me Sothis...but 'i'm also known as "The Beginning"_

In that moment i was too astounded to speak in my turn and understand what she talking about when she said she would turn back the time to save my life.

And so it was:my life was saved like the Edelgard's life as well.

In a sort of tragicomic spiral of events,the Knights of Seiros came into the place to save the three nobles and they were guide by Alois Rangeld(dear old Alois...i miss your stupid jokes),an old"friend"of my father,who recognized him immediately and invited him to come back to Garreg Mach.My father was very frustrated and didn't want to come back to the monastery,but nevertheless he was pushed to accomplish the request.I was invited to come to the monastery as well and immediately i was encircled by the three nobles i helped;they introduced themselves and explained that they were impressed by my skill and requested my services.

Edelgard von Hresvelg,princess and heir of Adrestian Empire,was a refined young woman,but i felt as though she was always evaluating me....

Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd,Crown Prince of Holy Kingdom of Faerghus,seemed quite sincere,but i sensed darkness lurking beneath....

Claude von Riegan,grandson of Duke von Riegan and next sovereign duke of the Leicester Alliance,had an easy and striking smile,but it didn't reach his eyes....

After many years,i cannot help to think about my choice and what would be happened if it was different:how many people and which would be still alive?

I don't have an answer,and it's better this way.

When we arrived to to the monastery,i and my father immediately met the archbishop Rhea.

My first impression of Rhea was totally negative...

I didn't like how much she was making my father uneasy and how she had forced him to come back to the Knights.

I didn't like the way she looked at me and she called me "child" instead of my name.

I didn't like she forced me to accept the position of teacher to the monastery.

At that time i didn't understand anything of what was happening.

Why didn't my father say anything about his past?

Why was i forced to become a teacher,although i didn't know anything about Fodlan,its history, and Crests?

I didn't have an answer,so i decided to accept the situation.

When it was time to pick up a class between the Black Eagles(Adrestia),the Blue Lions(Faerghus),and the Golden Deer(Leicester),i chose the Black Eagles. Next to my father,Edelgard was the first to give me an emotion(when i saved her to Remire Village) and it intrigued me. 

Unexpectedly i loved to be a teacher.

Garreg Mach was my real first home,after a nomadic life as a mercenary.

I liked to learn about Fodlan and its history.

More importantly i liked the people.

I liked my colleagues Hanneman and Manuela(i laughed when they argued all the time)

I liked my students Dorothea(how much i miss to hear you sing?)Ferdinand(you spoke always about the duty's noble...),Caspar(always enthusiastic),Linhardt(i like to think you're only sleeping now...),Petra(i laugh thinking about your language mistakes),Bernadetta(dear Bernie....i would like gardening with you one more time) paradoxically Hubert(i admired your devotion to your liege)

I liked especially Edelgard.I liked our discussions,our time together with tea and sweets,when she was talking about her dreams and hopes.

My students were my first friends and because of them, i felt emotions for the first time.

On the contrary,my opinion on Rhea got worse every day.She was very kind to me,but i cannot help to fell uneasy about her and any kind of subsequent event helped make me hate her:

Send inexpert students to kill bandits

The rebellion of Lord Lonato because his son's execution

The rebellion of Western Church and the retrieval of the Sword of the Creator

The matter with Miklan Gautier and The Lance of Ruin

On my eyes Rhea was more and more a tyrant trying to keep a wrong and defective rule based on the Crests and social classes.

With her aide,Seteth,my relationship didn't start very well:he was stern and very critical of my appointment from the first time and he didn't trust of me,whereas i didn't like him because his devotion of Rhea.

I remember exactly our first conversation alone

_"You don't trust me"_ i said after his long and boring preamble.

_"That is indeed what it comes down to,if i'm honest..Please understand that i mean no offense.Not only that,but you have also been entrusted with the Sword of the Creator.I was as surprised anyone else to learn that.Frankly,i am just not sure how to handle you.I am the archbishop's right hand,and yet when it comes to you,i have been told nothing"_

Despite his tone ,he was almost right and he started to question me about my background,my age,my father.

" _Your face says it all.You truly don't know,do you?Just what was Jeralt thinking raising you this way?Given your response thus far,i fell as though any further questions would be just be a waste of our time.However,permit me to make one thing clear. Whatever her reasons,then archbishop has placed great faith in you.Do not betray that trust.That is all"_

 _"Great way to start a friendship"_ ,i thought ironically at the time.

Our relationship and our opinion of each other changed drastically because his sister.

Flayn,his "sister",was different;she was was sweet,curious and polite with a particular love of fishing and cooking(i feared her the she was in kitchen)and above all she was eager to make friends. In a short time,she became the little sister i didn't know i wanted(How ironic,considering her real age,even more when she started to call me with another name years later...).However Seteth was overprotective about his little sister and he wouldn't let her 

When she was kidnapped(at that time i didn't know about the motives of her kidnappers)and i saved her,it was decided at my suggestion(Seteth agreed to it reluctantly),that she was annexed to my class like a student where she integrated perfectly.

Some time later Seteth asked to me to speak alone;i accepted reluctantly.

 _"What?s so important about this_ discussion?"i said expecting more complaint

_"Thank You" "What?"_

_"You saved my sister's life and i never thanked you win personally"_

_"I did just only my duty as teacher"_ i told him very bored:i wanted finish soon that conversation

 _"It's not just it.Flayn always talk always about her new life of student and her professor with a smile on her face.I realize i'm too stern and overprotective,but Flayn is all my family..if something happened to her,i don't know what i would.But until today I don't think i've never seen her looking more happy.I didn't understand her desires on protecting her, but you did Because of this you have my_ gratitude."I didn't know what to say to him.

_"Also i'm very sorry"_

_"What?"_ I was shocked.

 _"I was very rude to you during our first conversations.It's my duty as archbishop's assistant to be critical,but i was out of line this time.As a teacher you lacked in some fields,then i will help you to cover your_ gaps."I was affected by his offer of help,so i accepted it

Then he started to help me with my classes giving to me books,advices and history lessons.

Soon our meetings were no longer only formal and we started to join our time together on the tea and fishing.

I was very eager of these meetings,but unlike my students and my other colleagues,i didn't feel friendship towards him,but something different

Today i know perfectly what was that,but i dint't understand it at that time.

Nevertheless i was very happy to join my time with him.

But unfortunately three sorrows countered the joys.

The Church was opposed by a mysterious woe,the Flame Emperor,and his inhuman allies identified like Those Who Slither in the Dark and they were willing to any means to destroy the Church

They were responsible for the Flayn's kidnapping the massacre of Remire Village and the transformation of innocent students in Demonic Beasts for experimental purposes.

But their most despicable crime hit me.

When we saved Flayn, we found and rescued as well Monica von Ochs, a disappeared student one year before.Then Monica was rehabilitated and reintegrated in my class.

But Monica wasn't who she seemed to be...

Her name was Kronya of Those Who Slither in the Dark and throughout the assault of the Demonic Beasts to the monastery she killed treacherously my father

During the year,i and Sothis were living in a symbiotic relationship(only i could see her,i didn't know the motive at the time)we became friends,so she gave me the gift to turn back in the time;i used her gift sometimes to save my students during the missions.

That day the gift was useless:it cannot fight the fate.

That day it was my father's fate to die.

That day i felt new emotions all at once,while the tears flowed from my eyes for the first time in my life:sadness and the and despair.

That day Jeralt Reus Eisner,the Blade Breaker,died.

My fist sorrow.

Despite the pain and the lack of energy in the days after the funeral,i went in my father's office because i remembered his warning if anything happened to him:i had to find his diary.I found it immediately and i started to read it:i was stunned by what i was reading.

In the diary my father was talking about my mother's death caused by childbirth according to Rhea,but the child din't never laugh and cry with no heartbeat. Jeralt didn't trust Rhea anymore and he started to fear her.He faked his death and mine as well with a burning a burning because he feared what Rhea planned about me.

That explained almost almost all things.

Why my father had hidden his past and mine as well and he never talked to me about Fodlan.Maybe he was right to fear Rhea.I didn't forget a sentence of her during a previous encounter 

_"May the goddess Sothis protect you"_

Odds were she did know about my invisible companion and the events following reinforced that belief.

Me and my students finally tracked Kronya to kill her,but my anger and pain took over me and they detached myself from my students pushing me in a trap.

Solon,member of Those Who Slither in the Dark,responsible of Flayn's kidnapping disguised as the old librarian of Garreg Mach and of horrible experiments to Remire Village,trapped me into the void using a forbidden spell.I would have been in an existence worse than death itself if it weren't for Sothis.

Sothis remembered her past as Progenitor Goddess and she decided to save me bestowing her full power to me.

The fusion with my soul transformed me giving pale green eyes and hair and made me adept in the magic,but sadly it made her disappear forever.

I could escape from my prison and kill Solon,but i could't hear and see Sothis anymore.

My second sorrow.

The life seemed back to normal in the following days and i felt a little better thanks my student,Flayn and Seteth,when Edelgard asked to me to go with her to Enbarr for a personal affair.I accepted and i found out soon what was about.  
  
The sick Ionius IX abdicated in favor of his daughter and so Edelgard von Hresvelg became new Emperor of the Adrestian Empire.

After the coronation Edelgard told to me about her past:the Insurrection of the Seven and the following fall of her father ;the imprisonment her and her siblings;the cruel experiments to which they submitted;the death of her siblings and her oath of avenge them.

More importantly,she told me about her dream of a nation without Crests,noble and social classes.

It was a wonderful dream and i didn't doubt that she would achieve it with her strength and ambitions.

Then i promised her i'd help her to achieve her dream

I kept the promise although in another way.

When i think back about the events of Holy Tomb and the way i acted,i cannot help but to think i made the right choice despite the regret and the pain.

After the events in Enbarr me and my students were lead by Rhea to the Holy Tomb,a large underground chamber housing caskets and a throne overseeing the expanse.The archbishop wanted me to sit one the Throne of Knowledge because she was convinced that i would receive a revelation by the Goddess.

I did what she asked of me,but nothing special happened naturally(at that time i didn't know her real purpose,only years later i found out the truth)

But before she expressed her disappointment,suddenly the Imperial Army attacked the tomb.

Edelgard revealed herself as the Flame Emperor with filling my heart with enormous pain.

She ordered to her troops to collect the Crest Stones in the caskets and kill anyone that come her way,but me and my students fought the Imperial Army forcing to an impasse.

In that moment Rhea ordered me to kill Edelgard

I was torn.

I hated Rhea;i hated her tyranny;i hated the Crests

I loved Edelgard:she was my student and first friend and she wanted a better world.

But she was The Flame Emperor,allied with Those Who Slither in Dark:they were guilty of my father's murder,massacres and horribles experiment.

I had to choose the lesser evil.

I had to choose Rhea.

My third sorrow.

Edelgard von Hresvelg,Emperor of the Adrestian Empire,declared war to the Church of Seiros,deeming it corrupt and thirsty for power,and to the Kingdom and the Alliance,guilty of defend it.

Her first order was to march against Garreg Mach

In my heart i still had regrets and pangs to conscience for having challenged Edelgard,but i wanted to changed the things in other ways:the Edelgard's ways were too extreme.I also wanted answers from Rhea.

Furthermore was afraid.

This wasn't a skirmish between nobles or a raid against bandits or thieves. 

This was a war and i didn't know what to do,especially when Rhea had appointed me supreme commander if anything happened to her.

Luckily i wasn't alone in this ordeal.

I still had my students(Dorothea,Caspar,Petra,Ferdinand,Bernadetta,LInhardt and Flayn were only there to help me),the Knights of Seiros,my colleagues and above all i still had Seteth .

He made me realize it when he caught me off guard while i was reviewing the plans the for the imminent battle the night before.

_"Professor,are you alright?_

_"Yes,i'm fine,what's the big deal?"_ I said almost impatiently

_"You should sleep now,the battle will begin tomorrow and you need some rest"_

_"No ,i need to review the troops and the position of our soldiers;every mistakes could be fatal and i have a duty as second in command_

_"Exactly because of your position, you will need of every moment of breath in this situation;an exhausted commander is a mistake.You should know more about that"_

_"WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT ME?"_ I shouted him with anger

 _"What?"_ He was surprised by my burst.

_"YOU'RE ALWAYS JUDGING ME,YOU'RE ALWAYS PATRONIZING WHEN YOU TALK WITH ME!!!WHO YOU THINK YOU ARE?WHAT THE HELL DO YOU KNOW ABOUT ME??WHAT..._

_"You're afraid"_ Seteth silenced me just saying that.

_"What?" "You're about to face a war ,something different from what you did until today,maybe the worst thing of your life and you are in a position of command.It's normal to be afraid for yourself and your allies,thinking that your mistake may be the end"_

_"It isn't true"_ I said weakly

_"So why are you crying and are your hands shaking?"_

Until he told me i didn't realize the tremors and tears on my eyes ,then i bursted into tears as with the death of my father.Then he took me in his arms and listened me in silence while e i making out about the betrayal of Edelgard,my fears of the war and failing my friends above all. 

_"You're extraordinary"_ He said to me suddenly

 _"What are you talking about?"_ I asked to him in tears

_"You 're the most extraordinary woman I've ever known.Everybody knows about that and everybody wants to help you."_

_"it isn't true .Even with all my skill and power i couldn't save my father,i didn't prevent the betrayal of Edelgard.I cannot help anybody._ _"_

Seteth waited to answer me: _"Even_ _if it's true and surely there will be other painful times in your life,you're not alone and you will never be.There will always be people who will follow you anywhere and will help when you're down.Because they believe in you"_

_"But.."_

_"Believe in yourself,Professor.Because we will believe in you"_

Finally i believed him,then suddenly i did something that surprised me as well.

I kissed him on the cheek.

 _"Thank you"_ I whispered to him

" _My..my...pleasure,B...b..Byleth"_ he said flustered,before he exited from my room

I felt better with his words and i was happy he called by name for the first time.

i slept well that night

The battle was pure hell.

Demonic beasts were everywhere and my allies were receding more and more.

Despite our valor and our strength,the Empire received reinforcements after our first victory

Then Rhea ordered the retreat from Garreg Mach and she transformed in an enormous white dragon to everyone's amazement,including mine.

I was ordered to withdraw as well,but when i saw Rhea attacked by three Demonic Beasts i ran to help her.

I wanted her alive,because i wanted answers,but it was a fatal mistake.

Thales,leader of Those of Who Slither in the Dark and one of the killers of my fathers,shot me with a ball of magic,sending me out of a ledge into the valley below.While i was falling,i cannot help to think:

 _"I've failed you all of you.I'm sorry,everyone.I'm sorry... Seteth"_ This was my last thought for a long time.

_"You...How log do you intend to sleep?Your body is awake.Your eyes must open now,and you must find the_ _strength to stand upon those legs of a yours"_

I didn't hear that voice from a long time 

_"Like so much rain,a pool of blood has fallen to the ground...As spears and arrows pierce the earth,it weeps.And even now....it weeps.In order to survive,they kill.And so,the people of this world are lost in the abyss of suffering.They weep as well.The only one who truly knows the nature of such things is I...Or rather,you._

_"Who?"_ i didn't believe whose it was that voice.

_"Excuse me?!Are you saying you have forgotten who i am?How dare you!Get on your fee.Right now!I'll coddle you no more!You are just like a child,always needing me to hold your hand..."_

Suddenly i woke up while i was floating away down a river near Garreg Mach and i met a villager.

What he told me upset me.

That day was the 24th of the Ethereal Moon,Imperial Year 1185:i slept for five years.

Garage Mach was razed by the Imperial Army in that fatal battle and it was reduced to a ruin since then.

The despair soon invaded me.I was alive,but i felt i lost everything and everyone in the process.

But maybe there was a faint hope.

Five years ago,the night before a grand ball,me and my students made an oath to see each other again for a reunion's class the day Millennium Festival to the monastery .

The precise day of the reunion was 25th of the Ethereal Moon,Imperial Year 1185.

It was probably a false hope,but i didn't know what to hold on.

Ironically i found the person i least expected to keep that that promise on the monastery ruins to my astonishment.

Edelgard.

She was no less amazed by my presence here,but she cut off the discussion and she asked to come back to the Empire.

I refused immediately,and we began a duel of swords.

We didn't finish the fight and she walked away from the monastery.

Our friendship was now painfully over.

In that moment i really believed i lost everything.

I burst in tears.

I don't know how long i was crying when suddenly i heard a voice.

_"Who is it?Is that...Is it you?Is it really you,Byleth?"_

When i turned to the direction of the voice,i saw its was him.

Seteth was alive.

I didn't say anything;i ran to him and i hugged him to make sure that he wasn't a ghost.

 _"Yo..you..you're alive!I...I..i believed you're all dead,i believed you're dead!!!"_ i said in the midst of the tears, happy that he was alive.

Seteth hugged me as well an he said _"I'm so glad you're alive"._ And we stayed like that for a long time.

After this Seteth asked to me about my situation over the past years,the he told me about the situation of the Church, the shorthanded troops and the disappearance of Rhea.Then he told me i had the command now according to the last order of Rhea.

 _"I can't do it"_ I said:i was the worst person to cover a position of command

 _"i will not accept that.Please...you must lend me your_ _strength .It is up to you to lead us and to defeat the Empire-no,to defeat Edelgard"_

I wasn't convinced _"You should lead them,you're the Rhea's right hand.You have more respect from the troops and certainly you..._ "I replied to him very bitter,but Seteth interrupted me.

_"It is not for me to do.You are the only one who can rise to this task.Only you can stop this war.Someday,you will know why that is.Until then,i ask that you trust me"._

_"i can't do it"_ i repeated _"I can't stop this war; i could't save anyone five years ago;i cannot save anyone now.I'm a failure,a disappointment,a..."_

_"Do you remember what said to you five years ago?"_

"Yeah..." i remembered our last conversation _"We_ _believe in you and we always will"_

I couldn't answer this ,because we were warned of bandits in the monastery.

Me and Seteth went to deal with them,but they were too many and i was burdened by sadness.

But when it seemed over,the miracle happened at daybreak.

My students Dorothea,Petra,Caspar;Ferdinand,Bernadetta and LInhardt were all alive.Their help was crucial with the bandits.

When the battle was over,they told me how they survived.They told me how they owed me everything.

They came to to the monastery for the class reunion and now they were ready to fight the Empire at my command.

My joy was great.It became greater when i found Flayn was still alive.When my former colleagues and the Knights of Seiros came to Garreg Mach because hey learned of my survival and they wanted my guide in this war.

Seteth just said one thing about the situation _"Do you remember what did i say you?Do you still doubt yourself?.You're the most_ _extraordinary,capable and mighty woman in this continent and you can do miracles.Believe in yourself,Byleth.Because we...i will always believe in you"_

1st of Guardian Moon,Imperial year 1185

That day the Resistance against the Empire was born.

But that day something else happened.

I understood that i was completely and utterly in love with Seteth.

The war was pure hell.

The Resistance couldn't fight directly Edelgard,because we were short of troops and supplies,despite the donations from my students.

It was painfully clear,when we could barely to drive back an Imperial detachment sent to reclaim Garreg Mach.

In order to win,we needed of external support from Faerghus and Leicester.

Luckily Judith von Daphne,notorious commander of the Alliance,responsed to our appeal and she asked to meet each other in Ailell,the Valley of the Torment.

After the battle with a battalion of House Rowe,traitors of Faerghus,who was waiting for us,Judith gave us soldiers,supplies and a letter from Claude as well.

Claude,new Sovereign Duke of Leicester after his grandfather's death,offered to help us take the Great Bridge of Myrddin to invade the Empire.

He would have made a distraction and we would have taken the bridge to use it as starting point for the invasion.

The plan was a success.We thought we would win the war easily driven by our victories.

The reality of war hit me like a fist to the stomach.

When we took the bridge,Gilbert,a member of Knight of Seiros(i didn't know very well unlike the others),came to us as a messenger.

Then he informed us of the survival of Dimitri and he asked us free passage fro their troops and our joining in the imminent battle on the Gronder Fields,the same location which hosted ironically the mock battle named the Battle of the Eagle and the Lion(Five years ago,the Black eagles won the competition).

We gave them free passage,but we refused to assist them.

We were too few in number and we were exhausted for the battle,and Dimitri was unwilling to wait for us.

Even today, i feel sadness for that decision although it was undoubtedly the right call.

We heard that Grounder fields was a hell.

Claude was disapperad and the Alliance didn't exist anymore.

Dimitri was dead and Kingdom was destroyed as well.

We couldn't change anything if we were in the battle.

But this thought didn't prevent the pain.

The only good news was that Edelgard was gravely injured and she had been forced to retreat to Enbarr.Finally when had a chance to strike the Empire and we couldn't waste it to the mourning.

I don't know if it was a dream or something else,but i saw Dimitri that night.He was exhausted and repetant of all death he cause in his hatred of Edelgard and he asked me implicitly the war.After this i was more determined than ever to win the fight.

We decided to conquer Fort Merceus.It was a fortress said to be impregnable and guarded by the Death Knight,one of most trusted and powerful general of Edelgard.

However it guarded the approach to Enbarr and we would have a strong position to finish the war.

The plan was to infiltrate ourselves in the fortress,disguised like Imperial soldiers, and conquer it from the inside.

The strategy was a success,but we lost the battle anyway.

After the battle, we chased the Death Knight while he was escaping from the fortress,then suddenly he warned us to fleeing.

In a instant Fort Merceus was hit and destroyed by"javelins of light"from the sky,and we would be deleted too if the Death Knight wasn't honorable and respectful to us.

But this didn't change the reality.

Our victories had been undone and we were shocked and demoralized by this turn of events.

Regardless our feeling,we just had to keep going:we went too far to stop.

Me and Seteth formulated a new plan.

We would have gone back to the monastery,as if we had ceased our invasion.Actually,we would divided and infiltrated our soldier in areas of the capital,the we would gathered them in place easy to reach from Garreg Mach,then strike swiftly Enbarr.

It was almost a suicide mission with high possibly to fail,but it was our only chance.

The date we set for the invasion was the 29th of the Garland Moon,almost a month ahead.

Everyone knew the mission was unlikely to success,then the mood in the monastery was tense and gloomy,like before the battle of Garreg Mach five years ago.

In that time between our numbers,there were those who faced the fear by reviewing the plans and the army like me.As well,there were those who enjoyed themselves despite everything with books,food,tea,fishing,dresses,gardening...and the love.

Flayn was among those enjoyed themselves...although in a completely unexpected way.

 _"Excuse me,Professor;i need your help for a request"_ she said me,when she entered to my office after lunch time,fifteen days before the march on Enbarr.

 _"There's no problem,Flayn.What do you need?"_ I was always available to her and the others,despite i was busy with the war plans.

 _"I'm preparing a whole new menu,and i need opinions on that"_ she said very excited about his creation

 _"Flayn,i don't think i''m....mentally ready to a new menu with our situation"_ i said carefully:Flayn was a terrible cook.

 _"Don't worry about,Professor:in this situation i got help from Bernie and Professor Manuela"_ she said,almost reading in my mind.

I was very relieved:Bernie and Manuela worked wonders in the kitchens

_"Okay i'm curious,where is the food?"_

_"I need some time to finish the new menu and,because i wanted other opinions,i decided to have a little dinner tonight for a few friends who were not busy"_

A dinner with friends was a good way to calm the nerves,then i accepted it _" All right,what time should i be in the dining hall?_

Flayn made a strange look on her face _"Actually,because we are few and i don't want to bother other people in their activities,i decided to use a vacant noble's room on the second floor"_

This was strange _"Why didn't you use yours room"_

 _"My room ...my room ...my room was....MY ROOM IS TOO LITTLE,YES!!"_ She replied too nervous and loud oddly.

The entire thing was strange,but i let go of the matter and i said i would be there tonight

She thanked me with a look too happy on her face and he exited from my room very quickly.

 _"Very strange"_ I thought

The day became stranger when Dorothea came to my room.

 _"Professor,you and I have an important matter to resolve"_ she said i grave and solemn and tone

 _"What?"_ I was worried by her behavior

 _"Look at you,what do you see?"_ she told me pointing at me

 _"Me'?"_ i didn't understand what she hinted,and i was more confused and alarmed.

 _"Professor,you're a woman.You're a gorgeous,_ _splendid and charismatic woman to whom the Goddess granted every possible gift,but you waste them like nothing.You have no experience with either make-up or fashion, to be more beautiful,to be woman.It's the basics of the basics,really."_

Because my father raised me like a mercenary teaching me swordplay,war tactics and in general to fight, i never thought for a moment about these womanly things.I didn't understand what she meant with her speech,nevertheless.

_"Professor,i can't take it anymore.Please,let me dress up you."_

_"What?"_ it was the strangest request i'd ever received _"Listen, Dorothea.I appreciate your concern about my person,but it isn't the right time in this situation;maybe after the war..."_

_"Professor,it's the right time.Both you and i need to relax and these things are the most fun and relaxing for us.Additionally,when the war will end,the time of fighting will be finished for a long time as well.Do you want continue fighting after the war?Don't you want to try new things like this,for example?"_

She had a point,but there was still a problem _"Maybe_ _you're right,but there's not a recurrence or a special occasi..."_ I stopped here.There was a special occasion:the dinner Flayn she was making.

Dorothea was looking at me expectedly _"Very well,Dorothea.I'll_ _let you do what you want"_

Her face immediacy lit up _"Then we must lose no time,.C'mon,let's go to my room,_ _we have much to do"_ she said taking me by hand and dragging me out of my office

 _"But..but..but there is not all this urgency"_ i told her very frantically

 _"Oh,silly Professor, you 're about to learn what it means to looking good"_ she answered me with a very sly look

" _What i was getting into?"_ i thought very nervously.

When we finished,it was late in the evening.It was a long and tiring afternoon,but fulfilling and satisfying.

It was amazing how makeup and clothes could change a person,because was struggling to recognize myself in the mirror.

My locks was adorned with a white flowery decoration and done in an elegant low bun to reveal the skin of my neck.

My face was embellished by a pale pink lipstick and a darker makeup for eyes

I was wearing two beautiful two teardrop earring and a splendid big jeweled necklace.

Finally i was wearing a long strapless satin fit and flare gown,colored blue night.

Until then i did't know the perks of being a woman.I loved the result. 

I thanked Dorothea heartfully and i asked when she wanted back the dress and the accessories,but she said they were a gift to me.I couldn't accept the situation,because the dress and jewelry were very expensive,but Dorothea didn't want to hear otherwise.

Finally she said _"Professor,if you want,you can pay me back with a thing"_

_"What?"_

_"Tomorrow i want know exactly what happened tonight"_ she said with a seductive voice

I didn't understand,but she put me outside her room before asking for more.

Without any answers, i decide to go the dinner on the second floor.I didn't see many people while i was walking,but a few men looked at me with their mouth open.I liked the effect of my transformation.

When i came to the room that was shown to me,immediately i found a pretty weird scenery.There was no one,but someone there must have been here,because the table was full of plates,but it seemed set for two.I was wondering what was about,when i heard a voice

 _"Byleth?"_ it was Seteth.

_"Seteth,have you been invited by Flayn,as well?"_

_"Ye..yes,but where....where are the..the others?_ he asked to me very embarrassed,while he was staring at me very hard

_"I don't know, i just got here,but it seem odd.."_

_"Yea..yeah,it doesn't strike me as a party,but..._

_"A dinner for two"_

Suddenly we both understood the situation:Flayn had planned the dinner for just two of us.We didn't know what to say.

I didn't want to waste the occasion:since i realized i was in love with Seteth,i couldn't spent time with him because of war.Then i said to him that it would be a waste do not take advantage of the food.

He agreed with me;we sat down and we began to eat(everything was tasteful,fortunately).We both were silent for almost the entire duration of the dinner and i began to think very sadly i mad him uncomfortable

 _"You're gorgeous"_ he said suddenly and i was stunned by his affirmation.

 _:"I'm sorry if i made you uncomfortable with my silence,but i 've never seen you like this before.You've always been a beautiful woman,but tonight you're more than splendid.You...you seem.....otherworldy"_ he told me very nervously.

I didn't know what to say him then i started to laugh very hard.I was very happy how he thought of me:his opinion was the most important to me.Soon he joined me in the laughter,so the ice broke between us.We had a long talk;we told each other stories ;we laughed of silly things .The time between us didn't seem to finish.

 _"Thank you so much,Byleth.I didn't have much fun since a long time.I didn't spend that much time with a woman_ _since...."_ his smile faltered while he was talking and he stopped here

_"Your wife?" "Yeah"_

Five years ago,i offered my help Seteth and Flayn to fend off heretics of the Western Church from a holy ground.In that occasion Seteth revealed to me that a very important person was buried here.

His wife,namely the Flayn's mother.

Seteth and Flayn were father and daughter actually.

They explained to me that the two falsified their identities,because they were people willing to hurt Flayn for her blood.

_"Sorry,i didn't want to ruin the mood bringing her..."_

_"Talk me about her,please"_

_"Really?" "Yeah"_ i was curious about his lost love.

He hesitated a little,before to speak _" I met her in a church in Enbarr for the first time.She was kind and generous,always ready to help other people.But she was also stubborn as a mule:i can't remember a single time i won a discussion with her.Actually we didn't get along at first.It took time to know each other and..."_

He continued to speak about her wife for little while with an uneasy smile on his face,but the mood was decreased by his sadness and mine as well.I didn't want to bring back sad memories.

Finally we got up from the chairs and i was ready to take my leave when Seteth said suddenly _"Doesn't bother you?You know i have secrets and i don't tell anyone.Are you not irritated by this fact?"_ I was stunned by his abrupt question,then i took a moment to answer.I knew he was hiding many things about his identity and Flayn's as well,his real age,Rhea and other facts.i would lie if i said wasn't irritated,but. _"There must be a good reason to hide certain things, i think"_

_"Are you sure about this answer?"_

_"When we met each other for the first time, i hated you:i was considering you as Rhea's servant without own will.The i learned to know you and before i knew it,i was enjoying our times together. Yeah, i know only partially about your and Flayn's circumstances and ,but i know your motivations too.When you will be ready to talk about your story,i will be ready to listen you as well"_ I told him wile i was smiling.

After a long moment of silence,Seteth said _"Forgive me?"_

_"About what?" "I'm hiding from you an other secret as well.A secret...about you."_

He continued while i was confused _"Five years ago,i read the diary of your father,while you were on mission."_

 _"You did what????"_ i was outraged by his behaviour

_"Please,listen to me.Before she vanished,i faced Rhea and i asked her some pointed questions.I learned that she knows everything about you.No that is understating it....Rhea is responsible for your existence."_

_"What do you mean?"_ i asked him with concern in my voice

 _"i could explain to you here and now what fragments of knowledge i was able to pry from Rhea.I understand that you want know more than everything and i'm sorry.But i kept silent because i feared that you might be confused by a partial understanding of events.Once we save Rhea,you will know the whole of it.For now,that is all i can tell you"_ Seteth said to me

I didn't know what to say more,and i was on the verge of tears because the fear and the uncertainty

 _"If you are still uncertain about your feelings...Then permit me to add more one thing"_.Seteth had to understand my emotions because he leaned forward,highly placing his hand on the side of my cheek and looking in my eyes 

_"You,Rhea,Flayn...and I...We are like a family.Because of those deep ties,you can be certain that i will never abandon or betray you"_ he said to me with a warm and comfortable tone.

Carefully he took my hands into his own,lifting them to either side of his own face,letting her fingers slide over his .... _pointed..._ ears.I gasped when i realized what i was feeling.Then Seteth told me with a warm and loving smile _"On the contrary,i greatly wish to see_ _what your future holds.I am,and i will always be,on your side.The truth is,you have become indispensable to me.And that is true quite indenpedently of whether i see eye to eye with Rhea,or even whether we are friends"_

_"After this war is over,where i go and what i do will depend wholly on you"_

My heart was about to burst from happiness

Then i took his hand in my own,lifting it to my right side of my face,letting his fingers slide over my... _pointed....ear_ (After the fusion with Sothis,my ears started to change).

 _"We 're the same_ "i told him

There was nothing more to say.

We place our hands on the cheeks of the other one ,then we pulled our faces until we overlapped our lips in a long and passionate kiss.

We continued to kiss each other many times that night,then we saw the bed on the room.Without any words, we sat on it and we undressed each other.

That night we made love for the first time.It was one of my most happy moment in my life.

The day after,we had to face the sly looks of everyone on the monastery,especially the over-happy face of Flayn.

While Seteth was embarrassed,it didn't matter to me.In the next days before the march,we used every free moments to show each other our love.

29th of the Garland Moon,Imperial Year 1186,we managed to gather our troops and to reach Enbarr.

The first step to finish this war was to take and make sure Enbarr,but the city was very fortified and defended by the Death Knight and Hubert,the other most trusted Edelgard's general.

We won the battle,but it wasn't easy for my students:many were from this city.Additionally,i didn't feel pleasure to kill Hubert.

He was my student as well,and i knew what he was fighting:in his way,he was an admirable soldier.

But i could't cry or rest.We had to take the palace and kill Edelgard.

With our surprise,an unexpected person came to our help:Dedue Molinaro.

The giant man from Duscur was a loyal and faithful retainer of Dimitri before, during and after the days of the academy,and he came to avenge his liege killing Edelgard.Then he helped us giving the planimetry of the Imperial palace and an important information:Rhea was prisoner in the underground of the palace.Claude had already informed us of this information in his letter,but we didn't have confirmation before then.

The Palace was almost a deadly trap:it was full of narrow passages,soldiers and Demonic Beasts.

But we nevertheless won the battle and Edelgard was on your knees totally defeated.

_"It looks as though...my path...will end here.My teacher....claim your victory.Strike me down.You must!Even now...across this land,people are killing each other.If you do not act now,this conflict....will go on forever.Your path..lies across my grave.It is time for you to find the courage to walk it.If i must fall...let it by your hand."_

_"I wanted...to walk with you..."_

These were the last words of the Edelgard von Hresvelg,last Emperor of the Adrestian Empire,my student and friend,before i killed her.

Even today i cry thinking about Edelgard and her dreams.She wasn't a monster or power-thirsty tyrant:she was a rebel against a wrong order following a wrong path .

Ironically,the world she was trying to realize became a reality after her death.

_"if only you had trusted others..."_

Sadly the war wasn't finished yet.Hubert sent us a posthumous message.

He had found Shambala,the home of Those who Slither in the Dark.

Edelgard was planning to dispose of them after the war,and now the job was up to us as a duty of the winner towards the loser.

Before of all this,we had to free Rhea and ,thanks to Hubert's letter,we found her.

 _"You...you have come to save me....Is this...is this_ _dream?I have longed to see you again...all this time...Is it truly you?_

Those were the first words Rhea told me when she saw me on her knees

I've never seen her so vulnerable.Despite my opinion of her,i pitied her.

We didn't lose time and we informed her of Those of Slither in the Dark and her home;then she decided to tell us about those vile people.

Those monsters inspired Nemesis,the ancient King of the Liberation and wielder of the Sword of the Creator,to plunder the Holy Tomb and using his sword to massacre the Children of the Goddess,then bring war to Fodlan.We couldn't let go free them,because they would try to bring death and conflicts to this continent another time.

I would want to ask Rhea the truth about myself there and then,but i couldn't let anything else distract me in this last battle 

After a month the secret expedition against Those who Slither in the Dark had reached Shambala in secret successfully.

Despite her weak state,Rhea wanted to accompany us to.Before the battle,she told me her reason.Those vile people wanted to kill me more than anything else,because i bestowed the same powers of Nemesis.Then she added that it was her duty protect me at cost of her life.

After the battle,without my incitement,she promised me she would tell me all the truth about myself.

For the first time,in my life, i believed her despite all my distrust of her.

The battle was hard,but the element of surprise gave us the upper hand despite their strange magic devices.

My fight with Thales,the last killer of my father,was hard because i was strangely sick since two weeks.

But my perseverance and my hate against him allowed me to to hurting him fatally.

Nevertheless Thales didn't accept the defeat and summoned the "javelins of light" to Shambala to kills us all.Rhea used her transformation to dragon to cover us by that strange weapons and she saved all of us even if at the cost of the her .

31stof the Blue Sea Moon,Imperial Army 1186,the war was officially finished.

2nd of the Verdant Rain Moon, we had won the conflict,but Fodlan was in ruin.The Alliance,the Kingdom and the Empire were left in shambles with the death or their rulers and there wasn't no heir to take the lead in all the continent.The Church was the only authority left standing,but Rhea was seriously injured and her health was quickly declining.

Seteth and Flayn said there was an only person to rule Fodlan:me.

I wasn't sure,because the burden of the politics was more heavier than that of a war(the history demonstrated it),but my students,my colleagues and the Knights of Seiros told me that was the better choice to take the lead.

When it was time to give my answer;Rhea woke up,despite her state,and she met me with Seteth and Flayn.

They give me the truth about them:they were the last Children of the Goddess,more ancients and older than humanity itself.

And finally Rhea told me the truth about myself as she promised before.

Rhea wanted to bring back Sothis on this earth and she used forbidden arts to do this:she created eleven artificial bodies and buried a Crest Stone within them.

My mother was the the twelfth try,a failure.She felt in love with my father and became pregnant with me.But i was dying,without any heartbeat,and my mother was as weel.Sitri pleaded Rhea to save my life,then she took the Crest Stone of my mother and she carved within me,giving me new life.The Crest stone and the blood of my father(it was changed after Rhea saved his life years ago) made me the host of Sothis.Because of this,my heart had never beaten and i carried the Crest of the Flames.

Then Rhea apologized to me,because she knew i carried Sothis and she wanted her conscience took my body,instead Sothis gave me her powers and disappeared.

When she finished the tales,it happened the unexpected.

She transformed in the white dragon,the Immaculate One,and started to rampage the continent.Because her injures,she could't control her powers and herself anymore.But it wasn't the worst:she shared her blood with the others and they transformed in White Beasts.

That was the last battle:we had to kill Rhea and the White Beasts.

It was hard,like the previous battles,but we won that time,too

_"You're here,Mother..."_

These were the last words of Rhea,archbishop of the Church of Rhea,before her death.She was smiling to me in her human form.

Even today i didn't know my thoughts about Rhea anymore,despite my initial mistrust of her.

She played with the life of many people,including my parents and me as well.

But i wouldn't be alive without her ,despite her motivations, and i understood her reasons,despite her methods.

She was a tyrant and she wanted to preserve a wrong order.

But she had good intentions in her way and wanted to prevent the repeat of an old tragedy.

Perhaps Rhea was like Edelgard.

Rhea wanted the past,while Edelgard wanted the future.But both of them chose a wrong path for good reasons.

30th of the Verdant Rain moon,Imperial Year 1186,

That was the day of my marriage with Seteth.

The ceremony was was done in hurry,with Flayn as our officiant and our only witness,because i finally found out that day because i was so sick in those two months.

I was pregnant.

i cannoni describe the emotions that i felt in that moment:it was too much.

As soon as i knew my condition, i told Seteth about it:it was his child,as well.

i felt worry and fear of refusal when i told him.He was already father of Flayn and i didn't know if he wanted another child.

Seteth didn't say anything.

He took me in his arms,and he kissed in my forehead,my eyes,my cheeks and finally my lips.

_"Marry me...here and now.."_

There was no need to say more.

Flayn was jubilant about our marriage and her new sibling.She offered us to celebrate the wedding(she was part of Church,after all) and she asked to us to name her new sister or brother.

That was one of the days most happy of my life.

31st of the Verdant Rain Moon;first year of the United Kingdom of Fodlan.

I was enthroned as Queen of this nation with Seteth as my first minister and Prince Consort.

It was one of the days most important for the people on this continent.

But it wasn't as important as the day before for me.

My job as queen was hard and exhausting,at least initially.

I made a radical decision:the abolishment of the system of Crests and the revocation of privileges of high classes.Many nobles complained to me about that and then they decided to fight me,also with blood.

But i didn't want to concede.

The old order of Fodlan brought disparity and prejudices that had stagnated the growth of the continent.If there had not been a total change,there would be a new Edelgard to challenge the actual rule.

I was ready to impede it by all means.

Nevertheless,my job wasn't hard as the maternity.Every day,i saw my baby bump growing more and more,while i was feeling weaker and more vulnerable.

The day of my childbirth was the hardest of my life:no pain and fear in all my life and battles were greater that day.In all that suffering I feared more than anything in the world that child could die like me in the my birth.

Such fears are swept away when i heard the first cry of my child and Flayn gave to me a little girl with dark green hair and eyes.

I felt no more doubts when i heard the heartbeat of my daughter for the first time.

While i was feeding my Ethlinne(that was the name Flayn chose)on my breasts for the first time and i was between the arms of my jubilant husband and my stepdaughter,i was happier than ever.

Such joy recurred when Seteth made me mother of another two daughters.

The politics was hard,but i had my family to fight every day.

In the following years,i found out a thing about me.

I could't grow old anymore.The fusion with Sothis made me equal to the Seteth and Flayn,sharing their eternal youths and immortality.

At the beginning i felt sadness: i saw my friends and students grow old an die year after year,while i remained eternal.

I felt i was unnatural,especially when i brought my daughters to the grave of their grandfather.If there was a life after death,i wouldn't see my father anymore.

After a while,i understood that my memories about my father and my friends were important and,until i remembered them,they would be alive.

In addition,an eternal life with my family,because my daughters were immortal as well,could be maybe only a miracle.

Today Fodlan is changed.

After many discussions,fights(and assassinations attempts..)the old order was finally abolished.

The kingdom is now a nation based on a meritocratic system with equal opportunities for both commoners and nobles(only nominally)as well.

I couldn't have done it without my perseverance and the incitement and cosultaions of my husband.

I decided to honor the old three nations of Fodlan,dividing the continent in three parts and to allow my daughters to learn to rule,although under the supreme authority of Garreg Mach,namely the mine.Seteth approved as well.

Ethlinn rules the territory under the authority of Enbarr.

My second daughter,Fianna,rules the territory under the authority of Fhirdiad.

And finally Lilith,my third and younger daughter,rules the territory under the authority of Deirdriu.

The system is working well.

But Flayn chose an another path.Because the old isolationist system was abolished and the borders were opened,she decided to be an ambassador in foreign country.

Mu husband didn't approve it at the first,but he finally he complied with her desires after my consultation.

In the following decades,she was everywhere:Almyra,Morfis,Sreng,Dagda,Brigid...Then she went even farther into new nations:Ylisse,Valm,Jugdral,Elibe....

Every time she returns back with new tales and new gifts for her sisters:Thanks to her, my court is full of life and opened to cultural differences,as it had never been.

I conclude this account of my life.

I didn't say any lies

As I said at the beginning my name is Byleth Sitri Eisner,Queen of the United Kingdom of Fodlan.

Daughter of Sir Jeralt Reus Eisner and Sitri Eisner.

Wife of Seteth

Stepmother of Flayn.

Mother of three daughters Ethlinn,Fianna and Lilith.

Think what you want about my life

.


End file.
